$50,000 for Retired Marine
Confusion is exactly what Lottery officials were feeling when first hearing the Bowie man’s story. He visited the Claim Center last week to collect a $50,000 prize delivered to him by Bonus Match 5, but all the credit, he insisted, was owed to an entirely different Lottery game — Powerball.
The detention officer and former Marine drill instructor is a frequent Lottery player of all games, particularly Bonus Match 5. Years ago he decided upon a set of numbers to play and stuck with them. Just a month ago, however, he noticed some Powerball numbers that seemed to appear more frequently than others — he had his inspiration. He played those new numbers last Thursday, just like normal, and checked the winning numbers Friday morning, just like normal. That’s when things stopped being normal.
“I sat there in the car,” the winner told officials. “I couldn’t believe my eyes.” He swears there were no outward signs of excitement. There were no phone calls to family, not even to his girlfriend. In fact, he continued on to work where nobody had any idea that anything was unusual. “I had to be calm and collected, stay focused, he said. “Remember, I work in a prison.” The celebration came later when he broke the news to his girlfriend. “She celebrated enough for both of us.”
The Bowie couple intends to share this good fortune with family and friends, even while keeping news of the win to themselves. The winning Bonus Match 5 ticket was purchased at T&T Liquors, 13801 Annapolis Road in Bowie.